May 2017 Report: 525 Palestinians seized by occupation forces

Palestinian institutions working on prisoners’ affairs and human rights – the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society – released their report on Israeli occupation arrests of Palestinians for May 2017.

The institutions reported that 525 Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza were seized by Israeli occupation forces in May, including 139 children and 7 women. Among them were 190 Jerusalemites, 70 from al-Khalil, 60 from Nablus, 48 from Bethlehem, 39 from Qalqilya, 35 from Ramallah and el-Bireh, 28 from Tulkarem, 20 from Jenin, 12 from Jericho, eight from Salfit, five from Tubas and 10 from the Gaza Strip.

There are around 6,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including 300 children and 54 women; 10 of the women prisoners are minor girls. As of May 2017, there were 486 Palestinians imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention orders.

The institutions reaffirmed their strong condemnation of systematic Israeli violations of international law against Palestinian prisoners. The occupation authorities continue to ignore the legal rights of and safeguards for detainees under international law, especially the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners and many other relevant declarations and conventions.

They urged the international community to act to uphold its legal and ethical responsibility toward the people of the occupied Palestinian territories to pressure the occupying state to defend their rights. They also urged the activation of local, regional and international solidarity campaigns to pressure the occupying power.